


Shadows

by starksparkcr



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iron-Dad, Kind of ignoring Civil War, OOC, Other, Peter Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Precious Peter Parker, Spidey-Son, Tony Stark Has A Heart, also idk if this is really explicit but just in case, not starker bc gross no thank u, original character is may’s boyfriend, post homecoming, pre infinity war, tony stark - Freeform, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:04:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksparkcr/pseuds/starksparkcr
Summary: the one in which may has a new boyfriend. you could say that he doesn’t like peter very much.trigger warning for child abuse. stay safe reading this





	Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a quote by Herbert Ward, “Child abuse is a shadow the length of a lifetime”
> 
> This is barely edited by the way because it’s four o’clock in the morning and I haven’t slept in two days and I keep dozing off while writing this.

     Peter Parker quite possibly had the worst luck when it came to his caregivers. His parents both died when he was incredibly young, leaving him in the care of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. His babysitter had liked to recreate dirty pictures with him that Peter didn’t quite understand at the time, but he had understood enough to cry and ask him to stop (he never did). His uncle died last year, leaving him and May alone and significantly more poor. And now, his Aunt’s boyfriend of 6 months liked to use him as a personal punching bag.

     If there was ever a problem in the household, no matter how mundane it was, Peter got a punch, or a kick, or a slap. It was always Peter’s fault, even if he had nothing to do with it.

 

***

 

     “Hey! Why are these dishes still in the dishwasher and not the cabinets? I asked you to do that _before_ I left for work.” 

     Peter’s gaze shifted from the homework on his lap to the man now pushing the door to the apartment closed. Peter pulled his jaw tight and clenched his fists before speaking.

     “I’m sorry, s-sir. I-I had homework. I’ll do it n-now. I’m sorry.” 

     They kept their eyes locked for one more second before the man spoke up again, taking a step toward the teen. 

     “I don’t think so, _Pedro,_ you aren’t getting out of it that easily. I ask you to do one thing while I slave away all day at my job to provide for you and your Aunt, and you can’t even do it. Come here.” The voice was firm and demanding, angrier than it’s ever sounded before. And there was that nickname again.

      Peter hated that name. It reminded him of suffocating. Of being so close to death. Of being alone; crushed under the weight of a building, unable to move, unable to get help.

      Peter took a deep, shuttering breath before slowly making his way toward his worst nightmare, Andrew Wheeler. Peter knew he should tell someone, anyone, but he’ll never forget the threat Andrew made, so he wouldn’t— couldn’t. He couldn’t let Aunt May get hurt just because he couldn’t handle a few punches.

     “How many times do I have to teach you this lesson before you finally learn? You do what I tell you first. I don’t care if your best friend is dyin’ and you’re the only one who can same ‘em. You do what I say first.” His voice was like venom, but it was nothing compared to what he was about to do.

     Andrew grabbed Peter’s forearms so tight that Peter was scared they were going to lose circulation and fall off. Then a knee came to his stomach again, and again, and again until Peter was on the floor. A forceful slap was placed on Peter’s forearm where bruises were already forming from Andrew’s strong grasp. 

     “Pick your ass up boy.” 

     Peter obliged.

     Then the punch came. Usually, he’d only get punched or kicked in the ribs or the stomach. Occasionally he’d get slapped on the arm, or grabbed so hard there were green and purple finger marks that stained his pale skin. But it was only ever one of them at once. Never all of them at the same time. Peter was just glad that neither of them were wearing a belt this time or he was sure he’d have gotten hit with that too. He’d never forget the one time Andrew whipped him with his belt. It was agony to an extent that he never thought he’d have to feel. 

     And this punch wasn’t like all of the ones before. This one landed on his left cheekbone and eye. This one had hit his face. Peter was too shocked by this to register the pain at first, but now it was shooting through him like fireworks. The sparks were errupting just in front of him, blinding him, and he could hear his brain exploding in on itself. The world was spinning now and his eye was swelling shut.

     “Hope you learned your lesson this time.”

     Then, Andrew left, and Peter was alone in a tilt-a-whirl of his own mind, feeling queasy as if his body was moving around like the black dots in his eyes. May would only be home for an hour or two at around 4 a.m. before she was off again, not returning again until after he left for the lab tomorrow morning; she always overworked herself on the weekends.

     Before, it was always easy enough to hide; he had a set of five rules that were second nature to him by now:

1) wear long-sleeves

     This was harder now considering it was nearing May and it was getting hotter by the hour.

2) don’t get changed in front of anyone

     This was simple enough, he could just find a bathroom nearby if he needs to, but he rarely ever does.

3) always, always, always go to someone else’s house if they wanted to hang out

    This rule basically only ever applied to Ned, and Ned’s mom loved having him. Plus Ned had way cooler stuff to mess around with.

4) always do the chores

     This was the second hardest of Peter’s five rules to follow. He’d never really been responsible for the chores, and even when he had to do them, homework came first. It was hard to remember sometimes, but he always payed a price anyways, even if he did remember.

5) never show your true strength

     To Peter, this was the hardest rule to follow by far. He wanted so desperately to be able to just throw Andrew off of him and punch him back. Show him how it felt. But he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t risk his secret getting exposed, especially not to someone like Andrew. He couldn’t risk losing Spider-Man, not when it was all he had left anymore. 

     But now Peter didn’t know what to do. A long-sleeved shirt would cover the rest of the marks, but none would cover his face.

     Tomorrow at the lab, Peter could just tell Tony that he had a bad patrol day. But, it wasn’t like he could tell that to May.

     When she had seen him in his suit that day after he was offered a role as an Avenger, he passed it off as him testing the Spider-Man suit for Mr. Stark.

     (“May you will _not_ believe it! Mr. Stark is letting me test the Spider-Man suit! We’re trying to figure out how to fix his web shooters, so he’s letting _me_ test it to figure out how, May. Actually letting me wear the suit! Me!)

     Sure, he felt bad about lying to May, but he knew he couldn’t bother her with Spider-Man on top of everything else she’s had to go through.

     Maybe May would believe him if he said he accidentally got hit with a ball during gym. 

 

***

 

     When he awoke at 8:32 a.m. the next morning, he could only see out of one of his eyes. His stomach felt tight, as if he’d done 200 curl ups the night before. His shoulders were achy from the force of his arms being pulled. How on earth was he supposed to go to the lab like this and pretend that everything was okay. (“Seriously, Mr. Stark, I’m fine! I just had a rough patrol day! You try taking on six muggers while holding a kid in your arms!”) 

     Happy was at the apartment to collect him at 9 a.m. sharp, giving Peter just enough time to take a shower, change his clothes, and brush his teeth before he forced himself out of the apartment. 

     As he approached the black Audi, he could see Happy’s face twist into surprise at the black eye and the dark bruise across his cheekbone.

     “We played a vicious game of dodgeball in gym yesterday.” Peter lied in defense letting out a squeaky laugh at the end. He could feel his cheeks light up like they always do after he fibs. He knew he couldn’t tell Happy that he got hurt on patrol, because he would’ve told Happy in the calls he gives after every patrol, and Peter didn’t call Happy last night. Happy nodded slowly as he considered Peter’s words and hopeful face.

     “Looks like you should do more, you know, dodging next time.” Happy teased and Peter scrunched up his nose.

      “If I couldn’t before—“

      “then you can’t now.” Happy finished for him.

      “Exactly.”

       And with that they were off, Happy choosing to keep the window between them down for once, checking for any odd behavior from the boy, but turning up empty handed as they pulled in front of the Avengers Tower. Happy dropped Peter off before going to park the car in the parking garage.

      Entering the compound was like finally being set free. Peter loved the fact that he was safe here. There were no Andrew Wheelers waiting to beat him as he walked into the living room. There was only Tony Stark in his lab, waiting to hear all about his week at school, with a screwdriver in one hand and a black coffee in the other. 

     “Hey Mr. Stark!” Peter piped up happily. For a kid who had just been brutally beaten my one of his guardians the night before, Peter supposed he was in a decently okay mood. There was no stress to be someone here; in the lab. With Mr. Stark, he was just Pete. Not Spider-Man, not the picture perfect son, or the straight A student, just Pete. Just a goofy teenager that made way too many pop culture references at inappropriate times.

     “Hey Pe— woah what happened there kid?” Tony jerked his head toward Peter’s face.

     “Oh, um, it’s nothing Mr. Stark, real-really,” What was happening? It was so easy to lie to Happy, so why was he stuttering now?

     Tony’s raised eyebrow told Peter that he needed to explain more. “It’s nothing hon-honestly, Mr. Stark. I uh— well I had a rough patrol last night,” Peter gestured to his face before continuing. “if you couldn’t already tell.” 

     Tony sighed and pinched the top of his nose with his thumb and pointer finger. “We’ve talked about this kid.” He sounded a little disappointed.

     “I know, Mr. Stark, ‘m sorry.”

      “Are there any other injuries?” Peter’s eyes grew wide. “No!” Peter quipped a little too quickly. He waited a second before repeating, “no, no, nothing else.” 

     Tony was raising his eyebrow again and Peter could tell that he didn’t believe him. “FRIDAY, scan Mr. Parker here for other injuries.” Peter’s breath caught in his throat. 

     “Mr. Parker seems to have multiple _bruised_ ribs, two _broken_ ribs, and bruises on both of his forearms as well as the bruises on his face.” 

      Peter’s eyes flew down to the ground as he felt Tony’s glare burning into them. He could feel the tears coming and there was no way he was going to let Tony see. Peter was perfectly fine.

     Tony’s expression turned soft and sad at the tears that were prickling up in the boy’s eyes. “Hey, Peter, if you need to talk to me, I’m here. You know that right?” 

      Peter nodded at his words and the tears were gone as soon as they came. He plastered on a smile before saying. “I just didn’t want you to worry Mr. Stark. I’m sorry.” Tony ducked his head for a minute. “I get it, kid, but we gotta get you to Bruce. How’re you supposed to be that Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with two broken ribs?” 

      Peter just shrugged his shoulders in response.

     Tony led them down to the Medlab, allowing Bruce to take Peter into a seperate room to bandage up his ribs. Pulling out his Stark Phone, Tony asked FRIDAY to pull up the footage that Karen took from Peter’s patrol yesterday. 

     “It appears that Mr. Parker was not in the suit yesterday.” FRIDAY claimed in her usual upbeat tone. Tony frowned at her words though. That meant Peter was lying to him, and didn’t get hurt on patrol. 

     “FRIDAY, is there any way you can tell me when Peter’s ribs were broken?” Tony chewed on his lip as he awaited an answer. “I can’t tell you for certain, but I can give an estimate, boss. Given that the bones haven’t healed by themselves yet, I would put the estimated timeframe at 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. last night.”

     What the hell?

     Bruce exited Peter’s hospital room with a frown of his own. “Tony, there’s something you have to see.”

     Tony rocked on his feet as he was shown images of Peter’s injuries. There were clear finger marks wrapped around his forearms, and a red welt along with them that appeared to have come from a slap. There were bruises littered across his ribs and stomach. The kid had clearly been beat up by someone. 

     “So uh— what do you think it means? I mean the kid lied to me and told me he got them on patrol, but he didn’t patrol last night. Apparently he told Happy that he played a nasty game of dodgeball, but FRIDAY said his injuries came from late last night. I don’t understand, Bruce.” 

     Bruce took one look at the man before sighing and pulling a piece of paper out of his lab coat. It was a pamphlet. “‘The Signs of Child Abuse: and What to do When You Spot It?’” Tony read aloud.

     “Oh my God, Bruce, do you think that’s what’s happening?” Tony felt tears filling up his own eyes, something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Starks were made of iron. “It is a possibility Tony. There were welt marks on his back that were nearly healed that looked suspiciously like marks we’ve seen made by getting hit with a belt. Now I’m not saying that’s definitely what is happening here, but it is a possibility.” 

      Tony opened the pamphlet and began reading through it. Peter had most of the signs. The timidness, flinching when you reached too close to him, wanting to stay at the compound as long as possible. It made sense. “Can I talk to him?” Bruce nodded and opened the door for him.

      Peter looked tiny without his sweatshirt. Tony made a mental note to make sure the kid was eating well. There were bandages wrapped around his torso, and bright brown bruises on his arms that were holding an ice pack to his left eye.

     “Oh hey Mr. Stark.” Peter greeted nonchalantly.

      “Hey, Pete. Listen I need to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?” Peter averted his gaze but nodded. “Are you— does she— Is everything okay at home?”

      Peter’s eyes shot up to look at Tony, looking as though he’d told him that he’d seen a pig flying. “What? Yes, of course! Did you— you didn’t! Did you think that May did this?” Tony shrugged. “No, no, no, Mr. Stark, May couldn’t have done this. I already told you I got these from patrol yesterday.” But Peter’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, and Tony didn’t smile at all. 

      “Peter I know you didn’t patrol last night.” 

      Peter looked at him straight in the eyes. “I meant Thursday, not yesterday. Honestly, Mr. Stark, I’m fine.” But Peter put too much grit in the last word, too much fire behind it. 

      A patient Tony replying, “Kid, I know you aren’t fine,” was all it took before Peter was sobbing. “I’m so-sorry! I’m so so-sorry! It’s all my fault!” Tony quickly maneuvered around the machines in the room to bring Peter in to a hug. Peter buried his sobs into Tony’s shoulder, drenching him in snot, saliva, and tears, but Tony didn’t mind. Shirts were replaceable. His kid wasn’t. 

      “What’re you sorry for, Pete?” There was a sniff before the teenager’s broken voice spoke up. “May sh-she g-got a n-new boyfrie-friend and he-he’s, I always make him m-mad someh-how and he h-hits me f-for it. I’m s-sorry! I kn-know I could f-fight b-back, but I c-couldn’t ruin Spider-Man, I just c-couldn’t. I know I sh-should’ve said some-something, but he threat-threatened me when we were f-first alone together. He said he’d hurt Aunt May if I did. Please d-don’t let him, Mr. Stark! Please.” His sobs came in between every word and Tony just held him closer.

     “I won’t let him do anything to May I promise. I’m sorry I couldn’t do the same for you.”

      Peter looked up at him with his wide, sad eyes. “No, Ms’sr Stark, ‘s all my fault.” He mumbled, trying to restrain the wracking sobs threatening to come out. 

      “Peter. This is not your fault. None of it. You do not deserve this. Your Aunt’s boyfriend is a shitty person who does shitty things to good people. People like you. I’m sorry this happened Pete.” Peter hugged him tighter in response, not feeling up to talking again. 

      When Peter finally calmed down, and he wasn’t crying anymore, Tony got out his phone. There were three rings before his call was connected. “Tony? What’s the matter? I just got home a few minutes ago. Is something wrong with Peter?” Tony looked at the small teen in the hospital bed before replying. “Yeah, actually. May, I need to tell you something, and I don’t want you to interrupt because this is really hard on both of us. It’d be easier to just spit it out. Your boyfriend, Andrew, I think that’s what Peter said, well he’s— Peter came into the compound today with a black eye, broken ribs, belt lashes on his back, and bruises on his stomach and arms. I finally got Peter to open up and it seems that they’re from your boyfriend.” 

      Peter could hear his aunt gasp and begin wailing. “Hold on, I’m coming over to the—“

     “I already sent Happy to get you.”

     Tony hung up and looked back down at the kid, his kid. He wanted more than anything to go to this Andrew’s house and show him exactly how he had treated Pete. But, Tony knew that his mentor killing the person abusing him would not boost his mental state.

     “You’re gonna be okay, Pete, I promise. We’re going to take care of you, and I swear I will get that man behind bars for the rest of my life.” Peter smiled a little at that.

     “Thank you, Mr. Stark.” Tony smiled back.

     “Please, kid, call me Tony.” 

     

**Author's Note:**

> i fortunately haven’t had to go through what Peter goes through in this fic, so if i got something wrong, please, please, please let me know. 
> 
> also, if you or anyone you know might be struggling with anything like what is portrayed in this story, please reach out. remember that it is not your fault. you deserve help, health, and happiness. 
> 
> thank you for reading, and keep in mind that even if you feel like nobody does, i love you.


End file.
